Hawker who is not afraid to die jailed

KOTA KINABALU: A hawker who said that he was not afraid to die, was jailed a total of 27 months by the Magistrate’s Court here for three charges of preventing a Rela member from carrying out his duties at the Central Market jetty, failing to obey the Pulau Gaya Movement Control Order (MCO) and trying to escape from the police after he was arrested.

Magistrate Stephanie Sherron Abbie imposed the jail sentences on Bengsi Jilhani after he pleaded guilty to all the charges yesterday.

On the first charge, the accused was sentenced to 10 months’ jail for not allowing the Rela personnel to do his job during the Movement Control Order at the jetty at 2.15pm on March 26.

He was convicted under Section 186 of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of up to two years or a fine, or both, upon conviction.

Bengsi was jailed another 10 months for a second charge of failing to comply with the movement order imposed for Pulau Gaya at the same time and on the same day.

The offence was under Section 22(b) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 which carries a jail term of up to two years or a fine, or both, upon conviction.

For these two charges, the magistrate ordered the accused to serve his jail terms concurrently.

For the third charge, the accused was sentenced to seven months behind bars for attempting to escape from police custody on the same day after he was arrested for the two offences.

The charge was under Section 224 of the Penal Code which is punishable by a jail term of up to two years or a fine or both, upon conviction.

The seven months’ jail was ordered to be served consecutively with the other two jail sentences.

The facts of the case stated that the complainant received information that the accused went amock after he was not allowed to go to Pulau Gaya.

Investigation revealed that the Rela personnel who was on duty at the jetty was approached by the accused, who held two wooden sticks while asking loudly why he was not allowed to go to the island.

The Rela personnel then calmly explained to the accused that movement to Pulau Gaya was set at 5pm to 7pm which is in accordance with the Movement Control Order.

Bengsi did not listen to the explanation and shouted that he was not afraid to die. The Rela personnel then sought help from maritime police who later arrived at the jetty and handcuffed the accused.

The accused was brought to the police station mobile van where he tried to escape by smashing his head on the glass window of the vehicle.

The injured accused was then brought to a hospital and treated there. He received 23 stitches on various parts of his face, left hand and left knee.

Further investigation found that the accused is staying at Pulau Gaya alone and he was angry over dissatisfaction with the Movement Control Order imposed for Pulau Gaya. He had taken along the wooden sticks to scare the Rela personnel in hopes that he will be allowed to go home.

Apart from that, the damage to the police station mobile van was estimated to cost RM500 due to the incident.

In mitigation, pro bono basis counsel Lim Ming Zoong @ Lawrence, who represented the accused, prayed for a lenient sentence for the accused as he is the sole breadwinner for his family and this was his first offence.

The counsel also requested for all the jail terms imposed on the accused to run concurrently.

In reply, the prosecution urged the court to impose a heavier sentence against the accused on the grounds that he himself had proclaimed, “Saya tidak takut mati,” hence, the accused was surely not afraid of serving a long sentence.

The prosecution also said that the accused failed or refused to understand or abide with the order, whereby the current situation which may put everyone at risk by further spreading the disease and another extension of the Movement Control Order.

The prosecution further explained that the order given was made pursuant to the current Movement Control Order which entered its 10th day (at the time the accused was detained), such order was made known to the public and yet, the accused acted in defiance of such order for example in this case the schedule movement of ferry service from Kota Kinabalu to Pulau Gaya.

The prosecution added that imagine if the authorised officer caved in and allowed the accused to board a ferry on that day, chaos may be incurred and we might see or experience a drastic increase in the number of people infected with the disease.

“The damage done is yet to be determined and assessed, however the court may take judicial notice of the photographs tendered that another public fund is wasted to repair the unnecessary damage caused by the accused,” the prosecution further added.